h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The people who lived in my house before I did installed venetian blinds in the kitchen and bathroom. I don't know why; perhaps they thought these looked really cool. Whatever, their main function now appears to be to gather a thick layer of dust. And, whereas all household objects do this, the problem with venetian blinds is that the amount of dust an object gathers is in direct proportion to its surface area... and venetian blinds have a phenomenally large surface area. Every single one of those horizontal slats is a dust-collecting surface, and there are dozens if not hundreds of them in each and every blind.

Every once in a while, I'm rendered guilt-stricken by the thick grey film that clings to every slat of the blind in my bathroom (the kitchen one stays permanently up, I just hate it too much). So what do I do? I dig out a duster and try to clean the damn thing. But it's impossible; as you wipe the duster along each slat, it simply buckles underneath you. Result: you can't apply any pressure to the surface whatsoever, and so the duster simply skates lightly over the surface of the dust and leaves 99% of it exactly where it is. (The other 1%, of course, lands on the slat below - the one you just cleaned.) You also end up dislodging the two or three slats above the one you're trying to clean, which then have to be reseated on their support cords before you can move on. After about ten increasingly grumpy minutes, you step back and survey the handiwork, to find that the blind now looks considerably muckier than it did when you started. The sense of futility about the whole exercise is almost overwhelming.

I've tried rag dusters, feather dusters, vacuum cleaners with crevice nozzle attachments, and heavy blowing, all to no avail. Someone, somewhere, must have a brilliantly simple and ingenious idea for how to dust a venetian blind. Anyone?

Try using a low-capacity hose or similar water spreader. You may want to get some sort of washbin holder for the excess water. I suppose a wet rag would be out of the question.

Hi I know this one - my husband works for www.theblindfactory.co.uk and he is asked this regularly - do a google for ultrasonic blind cleaning in your area. I think this works.